This is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us.
When Prayer Feels Stuck: Pastor Gary Brothers’ Three Steps to Breakthrough
About this episode
Pastor Gary Brothers of Discover Life Church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, joins Philip Cameron to deliver a timely, scripture-rooted message for anyone who has ever felt frustrated in prayer. Drawing on Genesis 15, where Abram responds to God with raw honesty — "I go childless… when are you going to fulfill your promise?" — Pastor Gary shows that frustration in prayer is not a sign of weak faith but a universal human experience that God meets with grace. Pastor Gary outlines three practical steps for pressing through when prayer feels stuck. First, check the will of God, anchoring in 1 John 5:14–15: "If we pray anything according to his will, he hears us." Second, build your faith by mining the Word of God — finding specific promises for specific problems. "Get the promise for your problem," he urges, reminding viewers that God has a scripture-backed answer for every situation. Third, renew your trust in God with a verbal declaration, pointing to the courage of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who declared, "But if he doesn't, we're still gonna obey him." The episode closes with a powerful on-air prayer for breakthrough, healing, and peace. For more from Pastor Gary Brothers, visit garybrothersministries.com. Discover Life Church campuses are located in Cape Girardeau, Perryville, and Sikeston, Missouri.
Part of our Faith collection of conversations.
Quotes worth sharing
“Get the promise for your problem. Listen, God has a promise for your problem. God is activated by your need.”
“Our God will deliver us. You just go right ahead, king, have at it. Our God will deliver us. But if he doesn't, we're still gonna obey him. He's still God. We're still not gonna worship you. We're still gonna do what is right.”
“God, I trust you. And if it doesn't turn out the way I want it to, I'm gonna trust you anyway. If I'm blessed by something, I'm gonna be blessed either way, God, because I'm your child and you've never forsaken me. You're never gonna leave me. Your word is true. The devil's word is a lie.”
What's Discussed
Pastor Gary Brothers, lead pastor of Discover Life Church (Cape Girardeau, Missouri), presents a three-step framework for overcoming frustration in prayer, rooted in Genesis 15 and Abram's candid complaint to God. Step one: confirm alignment with God's will, citing 1 John 5:14–15. Step two: build faith by locating specific scriptural promises for specific needs — "get the promise for your problem." Step three: verbally renew trust in God, illustrated by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's defiant faith in Daniel 3. The episode concludes with an on-air prayer for healing, peace, and breakthrough. Pastor Gary's ministry is found at garybrothersministries.com, with campuses in Cape Girardeau, Perryville, and Sikeston, Missouri.
- Abram's Frustrated Prayer in Genesis 15
- Three Steps for Frustrated Believers
- Step One — Checking the Will of God
- Step Two — Building Faith with Scripture
- Get the Promise for Your Problem
- Step Three — Renewing Trust in God
- Shadrach Meshach Abednego and Unwavering Obedience
- On-Air Prayer for Healing and Breakthrough
Scripture in this episode
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:Hey, welcome to Daily Faith. My name is Philip Cameron, and I'm delighted you can join us today from our studios here, right on the outskirts of the beautiful Smoky Mountains. We are just about an hour from Gatlinburg. Last week I took my kids and my grandkids and we spent a week in Pigeon Forge, and we had the most amazing time making memories. The older I'm getting, the more I'm interested in making memories, because the memories you do or do not make will be your regret in the years to come.
Philip:I am thankful to God that God's allowed me to create memories, ridiculous memories with my family as we've gone through life together. And when all is said and done, we'll be sitting around the table one night and someone will say, "remember," and we'll go into a whole night of just talking about what God allowed us to do. It's really quite amazing. So we were there at a wonderful time. The camps all — and we have a mission work in Moldova for those who don't know. In Moldova, when a girl turns 16 in the orphanage, they put her on the street, traffickers get them, and one girl is worth $300,000 a year to the trafficker. And we rescue them, get them saved, full of Jesus. And these kids that no one else wanted have turned into missionaries.
Philip:It's amazing to see what God has done. So one of the things they do when they go to a village — each of the villages — we have a place called Vatra Village, an amazing place right on the largest lake in Moldova. And these houses house our kids. We've got one boy's house there — that's the red roofs there. One house is for boys, the rest are our girls. But when they come to the Lord Jesus and they come to us, many with just the clothes on their back, my wife Chrissy makes up great big Tupperware tubs of all the clothes they're gonna need to give them a future. But one of the first things we do is we get them out on outreach, because we've discovered that as they give, it helps them get over the lack of the lives they've had.
Philip:And so what we do is all through the year we collect items here and put them in the containers. And the furniture for our houses in Moldova all comes from America, and all the clothes and all the stuff — I mean, it's just tons, hundreds of tons a year. And yesterday I got a very excited video from Moldova. A container — to be honest with you, it seems to be so long ago since we sent it, I forgot all about it. But they had it when it arrived yesterday in Moldova, and they sent me this video. Watch this.
Hello from Moldova. The container just arrived, and we wanna say thank you for your kindness and your generosity. Every item packed in that container is a reminder that we are not alone. We are deeply grateful for standing with us and being a part of this miracle. Thank you.
Philip:Oh, I love it. I love it. I love it to watch Karen and Hope and — every one of our houses, I said to you, adopts a village. So a house at Vatra Village adopts a village in Moldova, and the poorest, most forgotten places you've ever seen. No sidewalks, no street lights, no indoor plumbing, people living through the wintertime. I just don't know how they survive. So in that container is the material that our kids can give away to those in need. You can't talk to someone that's starving or freezing about the love of God. It doesn't register with them. They're so busy living that they can't hear.
Philip:But when we go to their homes, especially the widows, and we wash all the windows and dig their garden and plant vegetables for the spring and clean and bring new furniture — some of their beds are eaten through with human waste. Some of the videos I can't even show on television. And these kids, these orphans that no one wants, have become missionaries and they go out and share the gospel. So what you are seeing in all those boxes is their tools for them to start working as autumn comes and the cold weather comes, to go into villages that have been long forgotten and share the wonderful message of Jesus Christ.
Philip:I've never seen anything like it in my life. We've just finished some camps right now. Our kids run the camp, organize the camp, produce all the stuff that goes on in the camp, feed the kids in the camp — a bunch of kids, a bunch of forgotten kids that no one wanted. Our church here did three days VBS, and it took the whole church three days. Three days. And I kept saying to my wife Chrissy, how do our kids manage to do this for a week and a half at a time, village after village, all through the summer? It's amazing what God is allowing us to do.
Philip:Most recently we've just bought two new homes — well, let me say, we're in the process of buying two new homes. A young girl was sent to us under age. We can take 16 and older, and this little girl was sent to us under age — 14 — because of the horrendous mess of her family. And we weren't allowed to keep her. The authorities made us put her back. So we put her back and she was gang raped. And it so broke our ministry, we immediately started looking for properties. And we've just found this place with two houses and a farm, a great big barn. It's on the right-hand side of that road.
Philip:And those two properties we're gonna use to take in 50 little kids between the age of four and 16. That house is finished — it's got a terrible paint job, but that house is ready to go. This one is about 85% finished. And in that gray barn you just saw a few seconds ago, we are gonna make the best youth camp in the country. Whoever would paint their house pink and orange — I just still don't understand that. But we're gonna paint it and furnish it and we can open the doors. We have house parents ready to open that house to allow us to take in little kids between the age of four and 16.
Philip:It will take 300 folk like you giving a dollar a day. You can change a life for a dollar a day. You can transform a young person's whole history, whole future, by a dollar a day. If I could take you there, I promise you, and stand you outside those houses — in fact, one of our most recent camps was held at the new place. It's called Promised House. And our kids were there, my granddaughters were there, and they had the most amazing time. And if I could take you there and say, we can save 50 kids for $1 a day, there isn't many who would say no. Most would say, we can help, we can do that. And that's what I would want you to pray about.
Philip:It's really simple. You can make a check out to the Orphan's Hands, PO Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. You can also go to DailyFaith.tv — that's the quickest and easiest way. We have a giving page there. Designate your gift — where you send it is where it's gonna go. And also you can call 833-Daily-Faith. That's what I would do. Just dial 833 and then type out Daily Faith on your phone, and a real-life person will pick up the phone.
Philip:And right now is our intake time at Vatra, when these kids show up from darkness. We're gonna have between 20 and 25 new kids coming in at Vatra Village now. So 50 at Promised House and the other one at Vatra will be over 20. And so we just need you right now, today, to make a miracle happen. As you give — your Bible says when you give to the poor, you lend to the Lord. He is the father of the fatherless. And when you adopt a child, when you take a child in and say, I'm gonna care for this child, you are giving God the greatest gift you'll ever give. And in a new day of trouble, he'll be near you — that's what the Bible says. So please help us if you would.
Philip:I am delighted. I have a dear friend with me, a great man of God. He pastors a ridiculous church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, called Discover Life Church. It is fabulous. And he's a great man of God. Pastor Gary, thank you so much for taking the time out of your crazy schedule to come and be with us on Daily Faith today.
Gary Brothers:Well, thank you so much for allowing me, and congratulations on the container arriving there in Moldova. I know that's a big deal and what an incredible blessing. I encourage everybody that's watching to get on board and help support this. You won't find a better cause, a better place to sow your offerings.
Philip:You are so kind. Thank you so much. God's been doing some amazing things at the church, and you've just been mentioning to me that all through the summer your numbers are up. Everything seems — the sails are full of the breath and the wind of the Holy Ghost.
Gary Brothers:Yeah, and I'm hearing that in different places too, in different churches. I believe God is really doing something around the globe, and not just here in America, but especially in America there's a resurgence of God's moving.
Philip:I agree. And what I find — I just read the other day about England, which has been post-Christian, it's going downhill. It's been taken over by Islam. I mean, every negative thing you could ever count is being talked about regarding England. And last week I saw an article that said that there is a revival amongst young men joining the church and becoming active in their faith in England. And I thought that would never happen. So God has his people and God has his way of bringing revival to the church.
Abram's Frustrated Prayer in Genesis 15
Philip:And in fact, I saw something this morning when I was in my devotions and it spoke about whenever you pray, God begins to move. And I believe that the church is rediscovering the power of prayer. And what happens when you pray — sometimes you don't think God's listening to you.
Gary Brothers:Well, that's a little something I'd like to share today, because I think we've all been there. There's a story in Genesis chapter 15 where God comes to visit Abraham. The Bible says he comes to him in a vision and speaks to him, "I'm your exceedingly great reward."
Gary Brothers:And you would think, if you're sitting there in your lazy chair resting at the end of the day with some sweet tea and God begins to speak to you like that, you would just fall on your face and say, oh, thank you God for speaking to me. Thank you Jesus. Thank you for honoring me. I want to hear your voice. What do you have to say? But that was not Abraham's response. In fact, this was before his name was changed to Abraham — it was Abram. And his response was — well, we might call it rude, snippy.
Philip:He was a bit snippy.
Gary Brothers:He said, what are you gonna give me? Verse two — I go childless. Look, I don't have an offspring. Basically, God, when are you going to fulfill your promise to me to have a child? Every day I'm getting older and it's not happening. So we find him in a place of frustration in prayer.
Gary Brothers:Philip, I think we've all been there. And if people that are watching right now — maybe you're frustrated with God, maybe you've been praying about something for a long time, you feel like you've got a promise from the Lord but it's not happening. Listen, I know exactly how you feel. I really do. And I think we've all been frustrated at some time. So what do we do when we get frustrated with God? Well, there's three things that I do when I become frustrated in prayer.
Three Steps for Frustrated Believers
Gary Brothers:Philip, one of them is, first of all, I check the will of God. And the Bible tells us in 1 John 5:14 and 15 that this is the confidence we have in him, that if we pray anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, then we will have the petitions, the things that we've asked for. So the pivot point is the will of God.
Step One — Checking the Will of God
Gary Brothers:And of course, I realize there are sometimes gray areas where we're not sure if it's the will of God. That's where you need to pray and pray in the spirit, and ask God to reveal to you — like the leper that came to Jesus. He said, if you will, you can make me whole. He knew he could. He just didn't know if it was his will. And I love the most precious words of Jesus: "I will." One translation says, "I want to."
Gary Brothers:So the first thing I do is I just make sure that what I'm praying is in line with the will of God. The second thing I do is I build my faith. Romans says that faith comes by hearing the word of God. For every problem that we have, God has a promise in his word. And so I go to the word of God and I find not just one but multiple scriptures that back up what I'm praying for. If it's peace, I look up scriptures that promise peace.
Step Two — Building Faith with Scripture
Gary Brothers:And the Bible's full of them. Healing — there are many scriptures where God says, I will give my beloved peace. Peace I give to you, not as the world gives. One of his covenant names is Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace. And so whatever it is — if you're dealing with fear, if it's sickness and disease, if it's a lost loved one, if you need wisdom — God's word says ask, I'll give you wisdom.
Gary Brothers:So you have those promises. It's so important to pray the word of God over your life. Get that word and pray, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." That means I won't lack any good thing. Father, I thank you that I don't lack any good thing because you're my shepherd. And so I go to the word of God and find the will of God, and then I find the word of God regarding my situation.
Gary Brothers:And I would encourage, if you're watching right now and you're frustrated in prayer — I get it, we've all been there, I know exactly how you feel — get your Bible, get a concordance. And today with your phone and iPad you can Google anything and look it up. It's so easy to find. Build your faith with the word of God. Read those scriptures, read them, write them down.
Gary Brothers:You know, before I was a pastor full-time and I was working, I was working in an underground coal mine in West Kentucky. And I would take a little index card and every morning I would write down a scripture and I'd put it in my bib overalls. And so all during the day when I had a moment, when I had a break, I would pull that out and I would read that scripture. I'd memorize that scripture. And I would speak that over my life. Every day I had a different scripture. Well, people don't use index cards much today, but you've got your phone and your notes and all of that. It doesn't matter what the tool is.
Get the Promise for Your Problem
Gary Brothers:Get in the word of God and mine — dig out the gold in the word of God. Let the faith of God rise on the inside of you by getting those scriptures that pertain to your situation. Get the promise for your problem. Don't just run around the house with your hair on fire saying, "Help me, Jesus."
Philip:That's one of my favorite prayers. Let me repeat that — get the promise for your problem.
Gary Brothers:The promise for your problem. Listen, God has a promise for your problem. God is activated by your need.
Philip:God loves you so much. Before the program today I've got — my granddaughter, her name is Annabel, and her mom drops past the studio just before we start Daily Faith. And she loves coming on her granddad's lap and seeing herself in all the cameras around the place. She just wants to come in and be with her granddad. What I'm telling you is that God has — as a granddad, my immediate interest is loving her and meeting her need. Sometimes it's correcting her. But God has your interest at heart. Don't allow the devil to steal from you and take away the fact that his promise in his word is already on its way for you.
Gary Brothers:Yeah. God's word is truth and the devil's word is a lie. And when frustration comes in, it causes us to begin to doubt God's word. That's why we have to go back to it and remind ourselves, to build our faith. So I start with the will of God and then the word of God. But then there's something that's important for me to do — I renew my trust in God. And by that I mean, Philip, I just simply verbally declare, "Lord, I just want you to know I trust you. I trust you, Lord. You're everything, God. You're God and I'm not. You created this world. This is the day I'm gonna rejoice in it. Lord God, I trust you, Father."
Step Three — Renewing Trust in God
Gary Brothers:You know, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — the three Hebrew boys — faced a life-and-death situation one day. And the king says, if you don't bow down and worship me, you're gonna burn. I'm gonna kill you. Your life is gonna be over right now. And I love the boldness of these three young men in captivity. They said, look, our God will deliver us. You just go right ahead, king, have at it. Our God will deliver us.
Shadrach Meshach Abednego and Unwavering Obedience
Gary Brothers:But I think one of the most important things that we miss here is they said, but if he doesn't, we're still gonna obey him. He's still God. We're still not gonna worship you. We're still gonna do what is right. You know, I heard this a long time ago and it's so true — there is never a right time to do a wrong thing.
Philip:Never a right time to do a wrong thing.
Gary Brothers:And I just renew my trust in the Lord. I say, God, I trust you. And if it doesn't turn out the way I want it to, I'm gonna trust you anyway. If I'm blessed by something, I'm gonna be blessed either way, God, because I'm your child and you've never forsaken me. You're never gonna leave me. Your word is true. The devil's word is a lie. And I renew my trust — God, I just want you to know I trust you. I trust you. I'm telling him right now, Lord, I trust you. I trust you. I trust you in everything, God. I'm not gonna fear, I'm not gonna worry, I'm not gonna complain, I'm not gonna lose sleep. Your word says you give your beloved sleep, and I'm your beloved.
Philip:And I believe the Lord is speaking to somebody right now listening. God is speaking to you right now. There's an anointing of God coming on you right now to stir your faith, to lift you, to build you up right now. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Right there where you are in your home while you're watching, you need to begin to declare right there in your home, "Lord, I trust you." Pray for us. Can you pray for us right now?
Gary Brothers:Lord, I pray for every individual watching right now. Thank you, Lord. This is a moment, Father, that you would stir their hearts in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, the power of the Holy Ghost, begin to stir them with faith. Let faith rise to touch heaven right now. Hallelujah. Let faith rise to overcome every obstacle. Father, let faith rise and fear go out the window. Let faith rise and doubt dissipate. Hallelujah, Jesus. Let faith rise in their hearts. Hallelujah. Faith overcomes the world. Lord, let people rise up right now and run around their house, run around their office shouting, "I'm more than an overcomer to him who loves me." And we thank you, Father, that your word is true. We stand on your word, and in Jesus' name, God, let breakthroughs flow today. Let today be breakthroughs. Frustrations go out the window and power and peace and faith rise, in Jesus' name. Amen. In every person's life. And thank you, Father.
On-Air Prayer for Healing and Breakthrough
Philip:I can feel the Holy Ghost moving right now. The Bible says you ask for rain in a time of latter rain. Something happens when God stirs faith. And I sense it as Pastor Gary was praying just now. I sense for me it's time to stand up and confess and believe God for stuff. And if you've been going through a circumstance and you're thinking God's never gonna answer your prayer, let me tell you, this program just did. God sent us here today into your life to let you know that he knows about your circumstance. You might be about to be thrown in the fire and you're thinking, oh my goodness. Let me tell you something — the Bible says they were not burned. They didn't even smell of smoke when they were taken out. And whatever your circumstance, I want you to understand that God knows about it and he loves you. Like I love Annabel, but he loves you a billion times more. My desire is to love her and please her. God's desire is to give you the desire of your heart.
Philip:Gary, man, I can feel the Holy Ghost. Hallelujah.
Gary Brothers:Well, thank you so much for allowing me to share, and I just wanna encourage the people — hang on to that. Get a grip. Get a grip on the word of God. Don't let go. Don't let go. Don't let go. God has not forsaken you. God has not forgotten you. And he has a word and an answer for your life.
Philip:Hallelujah. I believe that our folk watching just now are going through circumstances with their family. You've got prodigals in your home, and the more you pray, the worse it seems to get. And you may have physical issues in your body and it seems like you're sick of being sick all the time. Well, I speak to you in the name of Jesus that God is a God who hears your prayers and answers them. And I release healing into your circumstance — healing of relationship, healing of your physical being.
Philip:And I speak peace into your heart. As Pastor Gary said, the peace of God that passes understanding — and it passes misunderstanding also. You may be in a situation and it's all jangled and it's all raw. I release the oil of the Holy Ghost upon you and your circumstance, that the peace of God is gonna be your portion. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Philip:What a word. What a word. I want you to know, if you are anywhere near Cape Girardeau, the name of the church is Discover Life Church in Cape Girardeau. And Pastor Gary's address is garybrothersministries.com. He's got information and ministry stuff that will help and strengthen you. But if you're anywhere near the area, go there, go up to him after church and say, I saw you on Daily Faith. This church has got multiple campuses. Give us where some of the campuses are, Pastor.
Gary Brothers:Well, in the heartland here we have a campus in a town called Perryville north of us, one in Sikeston south of us, and that's just in the heartland. We've got some others scattered across the country that I oversee. But those are the campuses right here in the heartland in this region.
Philip:And if they go onto your website, they can find those out?
Gary Brothers:Correct. They're all there — addresses, service times, all of that.
Philip:Thank you for being with me today. As always, you bring a word from the Lord. You bless my heart today.
Gary Brothers:My pleasure. Thank you again, Philip.
Philip:Thank you, my friend. Thank you for watching Daily Faith. Pray about helping us in our new work in Moldova. We'll see you again. Bye-bye.
For over 25 years, the Cameron family has been changing the lives of orphans in Romania and Moldova — from providing running water, flushing toilets, and clean wells, to coal for heat, new windows, as well as food and clothing. They champion the physical needs of the orphans in these broken and desolate countries. Many of Moldova's orphans are saved from the horrors of trafficking through homes founded by the Camerons. And in the process, orphans become daughters and sons. They come to know their heavenly Father and are forever changed by the love of Jesus.
God help the Camerons lift these amazing young men and women out of darkness. Now no longer orphans, they wanna return and invade that very same darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. The Orphan's Hands equips these daughters and sons to become missionaries. Your monthly gift of $31 will allow us to rescue and take in more girls and boys, saving them from the hell of human trafficking. Your monthly partnership will allow us to care for those in the Orphan's Hands homes in Moldova and Ukraine. If you want to join Philip and Chrissy in taking care of these precious young people, please contact us today by calling 833-Daily-Faith. You can also give by going online to www.DailyFaith.tv or by writing to Post Office Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. So many lives depend on what we do. Thank you for loving the lost.
Common questions
What does Gary Brothers do when his prayers feel stuck or frustrated?
Gary Brothers follows three steps: first, he checks whether what he's praying lines up with the will of God (drawing on 1 John 5:14–15); second, he builds his faith by finding multiple scriptures in God's word that speak directly to his situation; and third, he verbally renews his trust in God, declaring out loud, 'Lord, I trust you,' even if things don't turn out the way he wants.
How does Gary Brothers suggest using Scripture when you're struggling in prayer?
He says to get a Bible, a concordance, or even just your phone, and search out specific promises that match your specific problem — what he calls 'get the promise for your problem.' He recommends writing those scriptures down, reading them repeatedly, and speaking them over your life. He shared that when he worked in an underground coal mine, he'd write a scripture on an index card each morning and pull it out during breaks to read and memorize throughout the day.
What does Gary Brothers mean when he says to 'renew your trust' in God?
He means verbally and deliberately telling God you trust him — even when the outcome is uncertain. He points to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as his example: they believed God would deliver them, but they also said 'but if he doesn't, we're still going to obey him.' For Gary, renewing trust means deciding in advance that God is still God regardless of the result, and refusing to fear, worry, or lose sleep over the situation.
What does Gary Brothers say about praying when you're not sure if something is God's will?
He acknowledges there are gray areas where you can't be certain, and says that's when you need to pray in the Spirit and ask God to reveal his will — just like the leper who came to Jesus saying, 'If you will, you can make me whole.' He loves that Jesus responded, 'I will,' with one translation rendering it 'I want to,' showing that God's heart is often more willing than we assume.
Does Gary Brothers think frustration with God in prayer is unusual or wrong?
No — he uses Abraham (then Abram) in Genesis 15 as his example. When God appeared to Abram and said 'I am your exceedingly great reward,' Abram's response was essentially snippy: 'What are you going to give me? I still don't have a child.' Gary says that kind of frustration is completely relatable, and that every believer has been in that place of feeling like a promise isn't coming through.
Topics
prayer breakthroughgary brothersdiscover life churchfaith over frustrationtrusting god1 john 5:14genesis 15